U.S. Personal Spending Remains Firm; Core Price Rise Steadies in March

Consumer spending remains firm. Personal consumption expenditures (PCE) increased 0.8% (5.8% y/y) during March after rising an unrevised 0.8% in February. A 0.6% increase had been expected in the Action Economics Forecast Survey. Adjusted for price changes, PCE rose 0.5% last month (3.1% y/y), also steady with February.

Real spending on durable goods increased 0.9% in March (4.3% y/y) after rising 1.4% in February. Real spending on motor vehicles improved 0.8% (-2.9% y/y) after rising 2.8%. Real home furnishings & appliance outlays increased 0.8% (5.6% y/y) after rising 0.6% in February while real spending on recreational goods & vehicles jumped 1.2% (9.8% y/y) after edging 0.1% higher in February. Spending on other durable goods rose 0.7% (9.9% y/y) after a 2.2% jump.

Real spending on nondurable goods jumped 1.3% last month (3.0% y/y), after falling in each of the prior two months. Real clothing and footwear purchases were off 0.6% (+3.0% y/y) following a 0.8% decline. Real food & beverage buying surged 1.1% (2.4% y/y) after rising 0.2%. Real outlays on gasoline & other energy products rose 4.3% (-0.3% y/y) after falling sharply in three of the prior four months. Spending on other nondurable goods increased 1.2% (4.7% y/y) following a 0.3% rise.

Real spending on services increased 0.2% (2.8% y/y) in March following a 0.6% February gain. Real spending on housing & utilities held steady (0.6% y/y) after easing 0.1% in the prior month while real healthcare spending rose 0.6% (4.5% y/y) after a 0.5% rise. Real spending on food services & accommodations improved 0.3% (4.0% y/y) after gaining 0.6% in February while real spending on financial services & insurance rose 0.4% last month (3.5% y/y), about the same as in February. Real spending on transportation services fell 0.7% (+4.2% y/y) after rising 1.9% in February.

Personal income rose 0.5% (4.7% y/y) in March after increasing an unrevised 0.3% in February. A 0.5% increase had been expected. Wages & salaries rose 0.7% (5.9% y/y) for the second consecutive month. Rental income jumped 1.6% (8.4% y/y), about as it did in February and proprietors’ income rose 0.3% (4.3% y/y) after a 0.4% gain. Income from assets improved 0.1% (2.3% y/y) after a 2.0% decline and current transfer receipts rose 0.3% (3.1% y/y) after rising 0.6% in February. Government social benefits rose 0.3% (3.0% y/y) after strengthening in each of the prior two months.

Disposable personal income increased 0.5% (4.1% y/y) in March following a 0.2% February rise. After adjusting for price changes, disposable income improved 0.2% (1.4% y/y) last month after easing 0.1% in February and holding steady in January.

As spending growth again outpaced the gain in disposable income, the personal saving rate fell to 3.2% from an unrevised 3.6% in February. The rate was down from a May 2023 high of 5.3% and the lowest since October 2022. Personal saving declined 9.2% (-35.9% y/y) after falling 13.7% in February.

The PCE chain price index rose 0.3% (2.7% y/y) in March, the same as it did in February but down from 0.4% in January. These increases were up from minimal monthly change during the fourth quarter of last year. The price index excluding food and energy rose 0.3% (2.8% y/y), the same as it did in February, but these were below a 0.5% January rise. Goods prices rose 0.1% last month (0.1% y/y) following a 0.5% rise. Services prices rose 0.4% (4.0% y/y) following a 0.3% increase. Services prices excluding energy & healthcare increased 0.5% (4.4% y/y) after rising 0.3% in February. Food prices eased slightly (+1.5% y/y) last month after rising 0.1% in February. Energy goods & services prices rose 1.2% (2.6% y/y) following a 2.3% rise.

The personal income and consumption figures are available in Haver’s USECON database with detail in the USNA database. The Action Economics forecasts are in AS1REPNA.